Thursday News, Aug 2

Le Mars Fire Department Offers Assistance

(Le Mars) -- The Le Mars Fire Department was called to offer assistance to fight a cornstalk bale fire late last evening. The call came in at about 10:50 p.m. Le Mars was at the scene for about an hour.

Le Mars Fire Department Releases July Report

(Le Mars) -- Speaking about the Le Mars Fire Department...The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department responded to 42 calls during the month of July. Ten times the crew extinguished fires, there were three rescue calls. Twice, the Le Mars Fire Department offered mutual aid assistance, both times was to help the Akron Fire Department. The Fire Department conducted 16 investigations, mostly with accident clean up duties, and eleven times the Le Mars Fire Department was asked for requests for services including programs, parades, and classes.

Akron Called To Two Fires On Wednesday

(Akron) -- Akron Fire Department was called to two separate fires on Wednesday. The first fire came in at about 10:30 a.m. when a burn pile got out of control. That fire was located at 18025 county Road K-13. Fire officials were on the scene for nearly a half an hour. The second fire happened at the 18000 block of Birch Avenue, near 190th St and Highway 12, just southwest of Akron. A grass fire was threatening a residence.

St. Joseph Church Still Looking For Home For Steeple

(Le Mars) -- Now that the old St. Joseph Catholic Church of Le Mars has been demolished, there is wide interest as to what will happen with the steeple? Parishsioners helped remove the steeple last week. Dick Ahlers of Le Mars is a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church and a lay director. He says church officials are still working to find a home for the famed Le Mars Landmark.

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Ahlers says the church hopes to hear from fair board officials within the week. He says if the fair board passes on having the steeple, it more than likely will be dismantled. Ahlers says the church approached both the city and the Plymouth County Historical Museum inquiring if either party had an interest in housing the famed steeple. Ahlers admits there would be some expenses involved with establishing a base for the steeple. He says the steeple of the new St. Joseph Catholic Church was specifically designed to resemble the old steeple.

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Sioux City To Close Pools On Sunday

(Sioux City) -- Sioux City Parks and Recreation officials have announced they will be closing the city's swimming pools on Sunday, August 5th. Those pools include the Leeds, Lewis, Leif and Cook swimming pools. The Riverside Family Aquatic Center will remain open on a daily basis through August 15. Riverside pool will re-open for weekends only starting August 18-19th, 25-27th, and again for the Labor Day weekend, September 1-3rd.

Obama and Romney To Visit Iowa In August

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Campaign aides to President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney say the candidates plan to stop in Iowa this month, in the weeks leading upto the party's national conventions. Romney will headline a private fundraiser Tuesday in West Des Moines and a public event that hasn't been finalized. Obama aides said only that the Democrat would visit Iowa in August. Aides tothe campaigns declined to be named because the campaigns haven't announced the visits. It's Romney's third stop in Iowa since becoming the likely nominee. Obama, a Democrat, has been to Iowa four times this year. The candidates and allied groups have spent more than $26 million on TV advertising in Iowa, among about a half-dozen states where polls show the race is tight.

42 Iowa Counties Now Declared Disaster Areas

(Des Moines) -- 42 Iowa counties have now been declared as disaster designation as primary natural disaster areas due to the recent drought. The designation allows farmers and ranchers to cut Conservation Reserve Acres for haying and grazing for feed purposes. Those 42 Iowa counties are mainly found in the southern half of the state. More than half of U.S. counties now are classified by the federal government as natural disaster areas mostly because of the drought. The U.S. Agriculture Department added 218 counties in a dozen states as disaster areas yesterday. That brings this year's total to 1,584 in 32 states, including Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.

Branstad Orders Flags At Half-Staff

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Governor Terry Branstad had ordered flags flown at half-staff to honor an Army soldier with Iowa ties who was killed in Afghanistan. Twenty-five-year-old Sergeant Michael Ristau of Rockford, Illinois was assigned to a Washington state unit when died on July 13th after an attack in Zabul province. Branstad on Wednesday ordered all U.S. flags and state flags at state buildings and grounds be flown at half-staff from 5 p.m. tomorrow until 8 a.m. Monday.

Two Men Charged With Arson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Two men have been charged with setting fires that destroyed a barn, corn crib and abandoned house outside the central Iowa town of Madrid . The Polk County Sheriff's Office says 19-year-old Meldaris Mehmedovic, of Clive, and 20-year-old Anthony Salazar, of Des Moines, each face two arson counts. The charges stem from fires set June 20 and June 21. No injuries have been reported. Mehmedovic and Salazar were arrested on Wednesday and remain in Polk County Jail. It's unclear whether they have attorneys. Online court records don't yet list the cases.